Wristlet

ABSTRACT

Wristlet comprising links articulated together, the links having a hinge member and a chamber with a holding portion to receive the hinge member of the adjacent link, the hinge member and the chamber being concealed from the top and the sides of the wristlet in the assembled condition of the wristlet.

United States Patent [191 Brauchi I WRISTLET [76] Inventor: Andre Brauchi, President Wilson 4,

2300 La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland [22] Filed: June 11, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 368,491

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data June 19, 1972 Switzerland 9168/72 [52] US. Cl. 59/80, 63/4, 24/265 CC [51] Int. Cl. F16g 13/00 [58] Field of Search 59/80, 82, 90, 78, 85; 63/4; 24/265 CC, 265 R, 26 5 SC [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,099,810 6/1914 Mehrlust. 59/80 1,153,362 9/1915 Wacha 1,784,451 12/1930 Kraemer 59/80 Dec. 31, 1974 2,480,015 8/1949 Goode 59/80 2,648,886 8/1953 Prestinari 24/265 CC 2,953,897 9/1960 Pfisterer 59/82 3,425,214 2/1969 Chue Meng 59/82 3,680,304 8/1972 Heckel 59/80 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 524,462 4/1955 Italy 59/80 Primary ExaminrC. W. Lanham Assistant Examiner-Gene P. Crosby Attorney, Agent, or FirmImirie, Smiley & Linn 57 ABSTRACT Wristlet comprising links articulated together, the links having a hinge member and a chamber with a holding portion to receive the hinge member of the adjacent link, the hinge member and the chamber being concealed from the top and the sides of the wristlet in the assembled condition of the wristlet.

13 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to wristlets comprising links articulated together. These wristlets may, for instance, be mere pieces of jewelry or serve for carrying wrist watches.

There exist prior wristlets of this general kind being assembledv of identical links. These links have at their one end two arms arranged at a distance from each other and provided with through-holes and at the other end one arm with a through-hole, or two blind holes, this arm being inserted into the space between the above-mentioned two arms of the adjacent link and a pin or pins or screws are laterally inserted into and/or through these holes to articulate adjacent links together. Such wristlets are, for instance, shown and described in French Pat. No. 1,440,172 and Swiss Pats. No. 351,779 and 503,481. These prior wristlets have various inconveniences. The joints between adjacent links appear, seen from the top, as staggered lines or even gaps which results in an unaesthetical appearance. The assemblage or the interchange of links is rather difficult, since for inserting the pins the holes of adjacent links must be exactly aligned with regard to one another. The aesthetical appearance is also disturbedby the fact that the holes and the pins are visible from the sides. Furthermore the pins are liable to be damaged.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is the aim of my invention to avoid the abovementioned and other disadvantages of the prior wristlets.

For this purpose it is an object of my invention to conceive a wristlet with aesthetical upper visible surface and side faces, wherein the articulation means between adjacent links are entirely concealed on the top surface and on the side faces and the jointsbetween adjacent links appear, seen from the'top, as narrow lines of aesthetical shape.

It is another objectof my invention to provide concealed articulation means which can practically not be damaged and which allow easy assembling and exchanging of links without necessitating special tools or special care on aligning adjacent links with regard to each other. For this purpose I use, for instance, articu- Iating means which form parts integral with the links and need not be inserted in the manner of pins or screws, which facilitates assembling and disassembling of the wristlet.

My wristlet has a hinge member at the one end of the links, a chamber in the links closed along the longitudinal sides of the links, a holding portion in said chamber at the end opposite to said hinge member to receive the hinge member of an adjacent link, and means accessible from the bottom side to lock said hinge member in BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a longitudinal section along the line I-I of FIG. 2 of a portion of a wristlet according to the present invention, 7

FIG. 2 is a bottom view, partly in section, of the wristlet portion shown in FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal section of a link of the wristlet of FIG. 1,

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal section of a link, different in structure and shape from that of FIG. 3,

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal section through some links showing the closing clasp of the wristlet,

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the wristlet shown in FIG. 5, with portions cut away.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, the links 1 have at their one end a central arm 2 integral with the remaining part of the links 1 and carrying an integral hinge member 3 of cylindrical cross section. The cross sectionxof the members 3 may, in modified performances, be different from the cylindrical shape. As shown in FIG. 2, the hinge member 3 is longer than the arm 2 in order to form extensions 4 beyond the arm 2.

As shown in FIG. 1 the face 5 of the link at the side of the hinge member 3 is slightly concave to receive the end face 6 of the adjacent link 1, which is opposite to the member 3 of the latter.

At the invisible bottom side 8 and in the interior of the links 1 there is a chamber 9 closed along the longitudinal sides and on the top of the links 1, comprising a recess 10, and two projecting holding arms 11 (FIG. 2) with a semi-circular joining surface 12 and extended by a lip 13. The central portion 14 of the link end opposite the member 3 is of course open at the bottom side to receive the arm 2 of the adjacent link 1 (FIG. 2).

After having mounted the hinge member 3 of a link 1 in the holding arms 1 of the adjacent link 1, the whole is locked by means of a spring member 17 insertable from the bottom side of the link 1 and having a curved lateral facev I8 coming into contact with the wall surface, 19 of the chamber 9 (FIG. 1) to adjust the position in vertical direction, and likewise bearing against the central portion of the hinge member 3 of the adjacent link 1. Furthermore, two positioning catches 20 of the spring member 17 fit to the edge 21 (FIG. 4) of the lip 13. The face 22 (FIG. 1) of the spring member 17, opposite to the face 18, ends in a locking beak 23 engaging in the recess 10 of the chamber 9. For rendering possible the dismounting of the links, the spring member 17 is provided with a central slot 25 (FIGS. 1 and 2) for inserting a tool, which need not be a special tool, but for instance, may be a simple pin or the like. As may be seen from FIG. 1 all the articulation means are invisible from the top and fromthe sides and the joints between the links are, seen from the top, rectilinear lines.

FIG. 5 shows the closing device of the wristlet. For this purpose a special link 27 is used with a chamber similar to the chambers 9 of the links 1, but with a central hole 29 open towards the top (see also FIG. 6) receiving a hinge member 30 on holding portions 31 (FIG. 6) which are identical to the holding arms 11 of the first example. A closing clasp 32 swingingly mounted on the visible surface 33 of the link 27 locks the wristlet by means of a catch 34 engaging a recess 35 of the hole 29. In closed condition, the hole 29 is concealed on the top by the clasp 32 and by the side walls of the link 27 towards the sides.

The various elements of the wristlet are preferably manufactured in a precision molding device so that no a pin 40.

if desired, the visible surface 41 of the links I may be domed, as shown in FIG. 4.

Instead of using a spring member 17, accessible from the bottom, for locking, the lips 13 (FIG. 3) of the holding arms 11 may be deformed to grip or lock the hinge member 3 by the holding portions 11. These lips are also accessible from the bottom side and concealed towards the top and the sides.

' In another example of the locking means, the chamber 9 may be filled with thermo-hardening material 28 (FIG. as'a locking means. i

The hinge member and/or the chamber could be partly or entirely of spherical shape.

While I have shown and described some embodiments of my invention I do not'wish to restrict the scope of protection thereto, but reserve the right to makesuch rearrangements and modifications of the several parts of the wristlet which may come within the purview of the appended-claims.

I claim:

l. A wristlet comprising links articulated together, said links having unbroken top and longitudinal side surfaces and defining a chamber closed along the top and longitudinal sides of the link, a hinge member at one end of the link, a holding portion in said chamber at the end of the link opposite to said hinge member to receive the hinge member of an adjacent link, and locking means to lock said hinge member in said holding portion, the length of said hinge member being less than the whole width of the wristlet.

2. A wristlet according to claim 1, wherein each chamber has an opening at the invisible bottom side of said link, said locking means being accessible through that opening.

3. A wristlet according to claim 1, wherein an arm is formed at the one end of each of said links-,said arm comprising lateral extensions to form said hinge member and consisting of the same material as the remaining part of said links.

4. A wristlet according to claim 1, wherein a strip and a pin extend from the one end of said links to form said 4 hinge member, said strip being shaped to hold said pin.

5. A wristlet according to claim 1, wherein each link has a recess in said chamber adjacent said holding portion,'and wherein said means to lock said hinge member in said chamber of the adjacent link comprises a spring member insertable into said chamber from the invisible bottom side of the link and shaped to bear against said hinge member and having a locking beak to engage said recess.

6. A wristlet according to claim I, wherein said means to lock said hinge member in said chamber of the adjacent link comprises by a thermo-hardening material filled into said chamber.

7. A wristlet according to claim 1, one of said links having a hole open towards the upper visible side, a recess in said hole, a clasp hinged on the upper visible surface of said link and comprising a catch arranged to enter said hole and to engage said recess to lock the wristlet and to close said hole towards the top.

8. A wristlet according to claim 1, said holding por tion comprising two arms overlying a semi-circular joining surface in said chamber to receive said hinge member of the adjacent link. i

9. A wristlet according to claim 8, wherein said means to lock said hinge member in said chamber of the adjacent link comprises deformable lips extending from said arms.

10. A wristlet comprising a plurality of links articulated together, each of said links having unbroken top and longitudinal side surfaces and defining an internal chamber closed along the top and longitudinal sides of the link and opening at the invisible bottom surface thereof, a hinge member spaced from one end of the link on a connecting arm, holding means in said chamber at the end of the link opposite to said hinge member to receive the hinge member of an adjacent link, said one end of the link being concave coaxially with said hinge member, and said opposite end of the link being convex to conform to the curvature of said concave end whereby convex and concave ends of adjacent links cooperate to form close, linear paths of articulation.

11. A wristlet according to claim 10 wherein the length of each hinge member is less than the width of the links.

I 12. A wristlet according to claim 10 wherein each hinge member is integrally formed with its respective link.

13. A wristlet according'to claim 10 wherein said holding means comprises two arms overlying a semicircular joining surface in said chamber to receive said hinge member of the adjacent link. 

1. A wristlet comprising links articulated together, said links having unbroken top and longitudinal side surfaces and defining a chamber closed along the top and longitudinal sides of the link, a hinge member at one end of the link, a holding portion in said chamber at the end of the link opposite to said hinge member to receive the hinge member of an adjacent link, and locking means to lock said hinge member in said holding portion, the length of said hinge member being less than the whole width of the wristlet.
 2. A wristlet according to claim 1, wherein each chamber has an opening at the invisible bottom side of said link, said locking means being accessible through that opening.
 3. A wristlet according to claim 1, wherein an arm is formed at the one end of each of said links, said arm comprising lateral extensions to form said hinge member and consisting of the same material as the remaining part of said links.
 4. A wristlet according to claim 1, wherein a strip and a pin extend from the one end of said links to form said hinge member, said strip being shaped to hold said pin.
 5. A wristlet according to claim 1, wherein each link has a recess in said chamber adjacent said holding portion, and wherein said means to lock said hinge member in said chamber of the adjacent link comprises a spring member insertable into said chamber from the invisible bottom side of the link and shaped to bear against said hinge member and having a locking beak to engage said recess.
 6. A wristlet according to claim 1, wherein said means to lock said hinge member in said chamber of the adjacent link comprises by a thermo-hardening material filled into said chamber.
 7. A wristlet according to claim 1, one of said links having a hole open towards the upper visible side, a recess in said hole, a clasp hinged on the upper visible surface of said link and comprising a catch arranged to enter said hole and to engage said recess to lock the wristlet and to close said hole towards the top.
 8. A wristlet according to claim 1, said holding portion comprising two arms overlying a semi-circular joining surface in said chamber to receive said hinge member of the adjacent link.
 9. A wristlet according to claim 8, wherein said means to lock said hinge member in said chamber of the adjacent link comprises deformable lips extending from said arms.
 10. A wristlet comprising a plurality of links articulated together, each of said links having unbroken top and longitudinal side surfaces and defining an internal chamber closed along the top and longitudinal sides of the link and opening at the invisible bottom surface thereof, a hinge member spaced from one end of the link on a connecting arm, holding means in said chamber at the end of the link opposite to said hinge member to receive the hinge member of an adjacent link, said one end of the link being concave coaxially with said hinge member, and said opposite end of the link being convex to conform to the curvature of said concave end whereby convex and concave ends of adjacent links cooperate to form close, linear paths of articulation.
 11. A wristleT according to claim 10 wherein the length of each hinge member is less than the width of the links.
 12. A wristlet according to claim 10 wherein each hinge member is integrally formed with its respective link.
 13. A wristlet according to claim 10 wherein said holding means comprises two arms overlying a semi-circular joining surface in said chamber to receive said hinge member of the adjacent link. 